


X-Ray and Vav

by youtubeimaginationstation



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: M/M, Mavin, joelay - Freeform, superhero au, x-ray and vav, xray and vav - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-08-17
Updated: 2013-08-25
Packaged: 2017-12-23 18:46:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/929834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/youtubeimaginationstation/pseuds/youtubeimaginationstation
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is the story of X-Ray and Vav, who they were, who they are, and the things that they’ve done.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The story of Vav

He’d discovered the powers when he was fourteen. There was one day where he’d been walking home alone, and the group of kids who were always bullying him came after him. They were all so much bigger than him; Gavin had been fucking terrified at the time. They started by calling him names, poking fun at his nose and his scrawny figure as they followed a few feet behind, chuckling at their own stupid jokes. Then it got physical, they all surrounded him and started pushing him around. Their hands dug into his arm, and he knew that they would be leaving bruises. Then they pushed him to the ground, kicking at him until tears were streaming down his cheeks, his hands over his head. “Stop it! Please, cut it out! It hurts please stop. Just stop! STOP.”

And they stopped.

Gavin uncurled from his ball and looked up to see a sneaker foot only inches from his face, but it was not moving. He let his eyes slide up to see the thugs face frozen in a position of anger. Upon further observation he found that all of them hadn’t stopped moving entirely, but instead their movements were slowed down to a point of almost immobility. “What the hell?” He muttered, standing and seeing their eyes following him slowly. He walked around them, ducking under their outstretched arms as they moved like they where in molasses. Oh the things he could do to these assholes who had been ruining his life. And he took that opportunity, grabbing their arms and pulling them to the ground, as soon as he touched them their bodies dropped like weights. Then he ran, not wanting to be around when whatever had happened wore off.

When he got home he locked himself in his bedroom and stared at his own hands. “That was top.” He murmured, before collapsing into his bed. How had he done that? He had told them to stop, and then they looked like something out of a slow motion video, moving only millimeters in a minute, and it was fascinating. He sat up abruptly, looking at the digital clock on his bedside table. It read 4:35 in the afternoon and he chewed on his lip for a second before whispering. “Stop…” Nothing happened, and he frowned. “Stop.” He repeated and still nothing. “Bloody hell, slow mo already!” Gavin nearly shouted, and suddenly his fan slowed down above him. His mouth dropped open as he watched the once fast spinning blades move at a snail’s pace. Looking to further test what was happening he grabbed a pillow from his bed and held it up high; then dropped it.

What he saw amazed him; the heavy memory foam pillow, which would normally drop like a rock, slowly sank like a feather to the ground. “That’s fucking toparoo.” He whispered, when he heard his brother coming up the stairs. “Oh no, damnit.” He waved his hands in an effort to make everything move again, but it wasn’t working. “Uhm. Speed up? Normal? Go!” He hissed under his breath and then everything was back to normal speed, right as his brother knocked on the door. “Hey Gav, you alright in there? George asked, poking his head in too see Gavin still standing on his bed from where he had dropped the pillow. “What’re ya doing up there ya donut? You’re gonna fall and hit your head or something.” Gavin just nodded, not able to help the grin that had decided to move onto his face. George frowned, shaking his head and muttering something about Gavin being a weird kid before leaving.

 

That day all those years ago had sparked this obsession with slow motion in him. As he grew up he loved two things; an online show known as Red vs. Blue and slow motion. He could turn everything into slow motion through the lens of camera, testing his own powers as his camera skills grew. It turned out that he could turn his two loves into something permanent. Companies started hiring him for slow motion film work and Rooster Teeth hired him to work on Red vs. Blue. It was like his dreams had come true, and when they brought him over to America on a work visa it was like everything was finally making sense in his life.

Working on his powers had been difficult at first, he didn’t know where to start. He knew he couldn’t hold the slow motion for too long without becoming exhausted and that the level of slow mo could vary. That was it. He would spend hours in his bedroom trying to better harness his power. Dropping things and slowing them down in mid-fall, then trying to do the same with his own body, jumping off of his bed and his dresser then trying to slow the fall as he went. By the time that he moved in with the Ramseys he was looking to try something more extreme with it. He knew that he couldn’t show it off though, it could get him kicked out of his only home in America, so he tried to push his thoughts about his powers out of his mind. He didn’t need them here, everything was perfect and there was no need to jeopardize that.

He was always aware of it though. Sometimes while he edited he would get distracted, thoughts turning towards jumping off of the roof and slowing down his fall so that he could land on his feet like he’d planned it like that. Or when him and Geoff would jump off the roof into the pool, how he could slow time and watch the older man’s eyes grow wide as they both slide into the water without making so much as a wave. The worst times though were when he knew he could help someone with it. In the office he’d watched mugs full of pen get knocked too the ground and the ceramic would burst, shards going everywhere and he would think: “I could have stopped that.” A full bottle of tequila had been dropped by Brandon in the studio when they where celebrating the completion of season 7, and as the glass hit the ground and exploded Gavin stared at it, knowing deep inside that he could have caught it with a little slow mo help.

The worst instance of this was when he was on a walk with the Ramseys one evening. Millie was on a bike and she was riding farther ahead then they could keep up. Her little feet peddled hard and Gavin watched a horrible thing unfold. He saw as soon as she hit the brakes that it was all going downhill. He knew that Geoff and Griffon saw it as well because they started running forward, but there was no way for them to catch her in time as she nearly flew over the front end of her handle bars. That was the worst, as he heard her scream and he hands fly out in front of her, he almost slowed down time just so he could save her pain, but he was selfish it seemed. He couldn’t reveal what he could do; it would ruin everything. So instead he watched this little girl, the one who had become like a little sister to him, falls to the concrete and cut up her hands and knees. Blood dripped down her arms and legs, and Gavin couldn’t help but feel sick, but not because he was looking at blood, but knowing deep down that he could have stopped it from happening. All that former fascination with his powers went away, and for the first time in his life, he hated his powers.


	2. The story of X-Ray

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the sroy of X-Ray and Vav, who they were, who they are, and what they could do.

Ray’s powers hadn’t been as ‘magical’ as Gavin’s had been. His started when he was 21 because of an honestly shit experience. Ray had always had awful eyesight, and nothing seemed to be able to fix it. Contacts bugged the shit out of him and his glasses always seemed to be getting cracked. He really didn’t have the money for eye surgery, so he struggled on. He went to work at GameStop everyday and stumbled around New York City nearly blind most days. It was difficult, but Ray was used to difficult, his whole life was difficult. So after breaking his glasses for what seemed the thousandth time right outside of work after closing up he was more than a little frustrated. He scrambled on the floor trying to pick up the broken pieces before they could get everywhere, and managing to thoroughly cut up his hand. Someone kneeled next to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Hey there buddy.” A voice said calm and cool like dripping ice water down his back.

Ray looked up, squinting hard in the dim light to make out who was above him. “Looks like you need some help with those eyes?” The voice sounded female, but he couldn’t see the face well enough to tell. “Well I mean unless you can give me new eyes then it looks like I’m stuck with these.” He joked, although he was growing increasingly uncomfortable with the stranger so close to him. “I think I can be of assistance.” You murmured, her lips against his ear and making him shiver. “What the hell are you talking ab-“ He was cut off by a needle being stabbed into his neck; the liquid inside going directly into his blood stream. The last thing he saw before he blacked out was a blurry streetlight and the distinct swish of a skirt.

When he woke up the first time he couldn’t move. Even with his eyes closed he could tell that there were harsh fluorescent lights above him. He tried to adjust his arms but found them strapped down, cold metal cuffs keeping him in place. He opened his eyes finally, squinting against the lighting and turning his head to the side. He could make out people in what looked like stereotypical white lab coats shuffling around. Everything was still blurry for him, but everything smelled distinctly like a hospital. “Where am I?” He asked out, his voice gravely from not having been used. His mouth melt like it had been filled with cotton as he spoke, and his throat burned something awful. It got the attention of the scientists though, and one of them walked over. “You are in a secure testing complex. You are a very important part in an experiment we are doing. It is almost complete. Go back to sleep now.” The voice was entirely too calm and was unnerving. “What experiment? I don’t understand!” There was a heavy cold hand on his arm. “An important one involving mutation and the eyes. You are the main piece. Go to sleep now.” Before Ray could argue further there was a mask over his mouth, and darkness over took him again.

The second time he woke up he was in his own apartment in his own bed. His glasses where folded and not broken on the bedside table. Ray grabbed for them before sliding them on and sitting upright in his bed. Everything came into focus around him, a little too crisp it seemed. “Did I get my prescription adjusted or?” He murmured, climbing from the bed and feeling woozy for a minute, that crispness fading as everything turned to red and yellow. “Oh, what the fuck.” He grasped onto his bed frame, eyes scanning the room. “Shit am I high?” He groaned, one hand shooting to his head as sat back onto the bed. When he finally stopped moving was when the weirdest thing happened. He was looking at his living room. Just on the other side of his closed door was his living room, and right at that moment he could see it. He could see his shabby couch and the scattered cans of soda across it. He could see his Xbox and controller surrounded by games, as well as an empty pizza box. Now he was awake, looking around at things in his room and focusing on certain things the best he could, gasping each time he could see through it or in the internal workings of them. Then suddenly his vision was back to normal, the switch back triggering intense pain in the back of his head.

That was when he remembered what happened the night previous, well at least he assumed it was the night before. It could have been longer for all he knew. The ladies voice, the facility, being strapped down; it all came rushing back to him. “Oh what the hell did they do to me?” He muttered, pulling his glasses off and discovering that his eyesight was just as shit as before. “They gave me fucking x-ray vision but didn’t fix my regular vision… that’s great. That’s fucking fantastic.” He didn’t need this, another hindrance in his life. It was his day off too, which kind of pissed him off even more. “I’m going to play some fucking Xbox.” He grumbled, shuffling out of his room into bathroom, and was thrown off guard by his own appearance. There was a bruise on his neck where he had been drugged; a small plaster over it covered a sore spot on his neck. He sighed, turning away from the mirror and padding out to his living room, turning on his Xbox and settling onto the couch with his controller in hand.

As his tv came on and the Xbox whirred to life he smiled slightly, this was comfortable, this was normal. As stupid as it was for him to think that his would make everything form last night change, he needed some sense of normality to calm himself down. He noticed that his friend Michael was online and grinned, hooking up his headset and messaging the guy. Within a few minutes they were both playing Halo and talking about stuff. They talked about Michael’s job in Austin, he’d moved there from New Jersey to work for Rooster Teeth, which they had both been fans of for years. Ray was also making videos for the community when he had time, and in the past few months they had taken notice of him. “How’s Rooster Teeth treating ya?” Ray asked, taking out a rookie from the other team. “It’s cool. I’m in this group called Achievement Hunter, they’re pretty awesome. Just video games all day everyday. I told them about you some more by the way. And- FUCKING SHIT HEAD BLEW MY ASS UP WHAT THE FUCK!?” Ray couldn’t help but smirk as his Jersey friend shouted at some poor sucker who decided to mess with him. That was when the thing happened again, his eyes seeing red and gold again and he no longer saw the game, but the inner workings of his television. “Fuck.” He muttered, blinking rapidly and hearing that he was shot.

“Hey Ray! Pay attention man!” Michael shouted, but Ray’s head was spinning as his vision went in and out of seeing through shit and normal. “Michael, bro, I gotta go. My head is killing me.” He said quietly, closing his eyes in an effort to make it stop. “Stay up drinking last night buddy?” Michael teased, knowing full well that Ray didn’t drink. “Yeah yeah, hey shoot me a text message if the people at Rooster Teeth say anything else about me, yeah?” Michael grunted in response, obviously getting back into the game. “Bye.” He dropped out of the game and leaned back into the couch, closing his eyes again and tossing his glasses on the coffee table. “Well this is shit.”


	3. Meetings and New Places

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Michael and Gavin meet, and a few months down the line Ray moves to Austin.

Gavin was surprised when Geoff told him that someone new was going to be joining them in the office. He had been sulking for over a week, unable to explain why to Geoff or Griffon, who had both become increasingly concerned for the Brit. He always tried to push it off as homesickness or migraines, but they didn’t seemed convinced. So when Geoff announced to him and Jack that there was going be a new Achievement Hunter, well Gavin was shocked. For one thing, they worked in what felt like breadbox. Their green office was so tiny, yet there was a part of him that was excited, and that started to push through the dark veil he had surrounded himself with since the incident with Millie. The other thing was that it meant that Achievement Hunter was going to be a real thing, bigger than just the community, but a team of people working to play games, and Gavin had to admit that was pretty damn top.

The day the newcomer arrived Gavin was quietly editing, in another one of his funks. He had forgotten that the new Hunter would be there that day, so he fell into his routine and blocked out the rest of the world. He was only roused from it when there was a heavy hand on his shoulder and he spun in his chair to face the culprit. It was Jack, and Gavin was about to say something about him ‘ruining his editing groove’ when he lay eyes upon the person next to the bearded man. His words were cut short as he took in the man before him. He wasn’t too tall, likely 5’8 or so, with a mass of auburn curls the color of a new penny peeking out from the lip of a two toned green beanie. His skin was alabaster pale and had a smattering of freckles across the cheeks. The lad’s eyes were a caramel color, shockingly bright behind wire-framed glasses. The guy was dressed casually enough; a My Little Pony t-shirt and jeans with sneakers, and Gavin noted that he would do great with the employee dress code (which was nothing). He was grimacing, almost like he had eaten something nasty, which confused the Brit.

When Gavin finally regained control over his voice he grinned. “Ah hello, you must be the new guy. Welcome to the Achievement Hunter office. I’m Gavin.” The guy looked to Jack before responding. “I’m Michael, and I guess we’ll be working together for a while won’t we?” He cracked a smile and revealed a set of perfect white teeth and dimples. There was something about it that sent Gavin’s heart to thumping painfully in his chest, and he recognized it immediately. It was the kind of feeling he got when he found someone attractive, and he fought back the urge to sigh. Of course his new coworker would be attractive, of fucking course. He didn’t let show, just motioned to the empty desk next to his. “Yeah, I guess we will. This is your desk, right next to me!” 

The two easily settled into a friendship. While they had contrasting styles of humor and personality, something about them just clicked, and Gavin was extremely pleased, feeling like some horrible weight had been lifted from his shoulders for the first time in weeks. He learned quickly that Michael had a short temper though, as proven from the reason he was hired was to film Rage Quit videos. Gavin took this as an opportunity to pester the redhead, enjoying the outbursts of irritation and giggling to himself. He also made it a goal of his to make the man smile. He would do anything to witness Michael’s freckled cheeks pulling up to show his dimples, always wanting to slow it down just so he could watch the beautiful sight unfold before him because he liked looking at beautiful things, and he was not fond of keeping himself from enjoying beautiful things to their full potential.

This went on for months, their friendship growing and Gavin finally getting back into using his powers. He test things out, playing around his slowing down certain things but not others, seeing just how concentrated it could get. He’d get frustrated and text Michael something dumb, then Michael would respond with something equally as dumb, and it would made him smile and he would try again, each time with a renewed purpose. The thing is, as the friendship got closer and his powers got stronger, Gavin also felt another tug, one that wasn’t as familiar as friendship or powers to him. It was attraction, and this attraction went deeper that it should have, past the overall appearance of the Jersey man. He found that the more he knew about Michael, the more he liked him, and the more he liked him the more it hurt for the two of them to sit next to each other and joke to easily. It was horrible, but Michael never seemed to notice the longing glances in his direction from Gavin, so he was content just being his friend.

There was a day when Michael came into the office without his signature frown that Gavin had come to expect. He was smiling, and greeted Gavin with much more pep that usual. “Hey Gavvers.” He chirped, turning his computer on and spinning around to face the puzzled man. “Hey Michael, what’s got you all jolly you donut?” He was ready to answer it seemed. “My buddy Ray is coming down to join us in Achievement Hunter today! Isn’t that fucking awesome? We get another dude in here to play with, and this guy is fucking amazing at gaming. Dude has a Gamerscore that’s off the charts.” Gavin listened carefully to the way Michael nearly raved over this guy and frowned, jealousy setting in. “Michael, what the fuck man, we’ve gotta go and get Ray like now asshole. Getta move on. And Gavin, you and Jack are gonna do AWHU today, film it while we’re out.” Michael was already out the door and the Brit sighed, sinking into his chair and nodding while his boss left, a horrible twist settling into his stomach.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Around a week later Ray got a call on his cell phone. He was still struggling with this weird x-ray shit (although he was slowly learning to control it) but that phone call changed everything for him. It had been around three in the afternoon and he was about to leave for his shift at GameStop. His phone started ringing as he grabbed his coat from the sofa, and it was an unknown number. By some stroke of luck he decided to answer, and god was that the best decision he’d ever made. It was Geoff Ramsey, head guy at Achievement Hunter, and he wanted Ray to take a job in Austin as a part of this group. It was all about gaming, which was Ray’s specialty, and when Geoff asked his how long it would take before he could be there, the Hispanic told his he’d be there in three days. When he got off the phone he collapsed onto his couch, grateful that his eyes were deciding to be normal as he processed what just happened. He was going to be working his dream job with one of his best friends. Playing video games for a living? Yeah, that sounded like his kind of deal, and he immediately hopped up with a grin dancing on his lips. “Time to go quit this shitty fucking job.” 

Ray hadn’t been kidding when he said he’d be there in three days. He packed his sparse belongings and got them checked, then was on a plane to Austin Texas, the home of Rooster Teeth. The entire flight he was bouncing in his seat, receiving weird looks from the people who had the pleasure of sitting next to him, it was like he was a five year old hyped up on sugar. The man couldn’t sit still, and when the plane landed, he was the first to his feet, aching to get off the metal contraption and set foot on the land he was going to be calling home. As soon as he did, he was grinning widely. There was no better feeling than knowing that this was the start of a new life for him, and naturally that’s when his eyesight decided to go all weird on him. “Shit, not now.” He mumbled under his breath, trying to refocus and turn off the red yellow vision that had taken over, not really wanting to see the undesirables in people’s carry on luggage. After standing still for a few seconds and nearly giving himself an aneurism he was thinking so damn hard, he returned to normal vision and went on his way, ignoring the stares he was getting from his odd display. Ray was determined to not let anything ruin his mood, so he marched to the luggage carousel, urging the x-ray to stay away until he was alone. 

As he approached the carousel he was greeted with a familiar face and a not so familiar face. Michael stood there grinning widely at his friend. The two of them had met before in person, but knowing that they were going to be seeing each other everyday at work was a whole new level of excitement. “MLP MICHAEL!” Ray nearly shouted as he bolted over, his backpack bouncing on his thin shoulders. “BROWNMAN!” The two embraced, laughing as the duo was reunited. That’s when Ray took notice of the other man who was standing there, a smirk on his lips. He had eyes that looked like he was perpetually tired and a scruffy dark beard. His arms were covered in colorful tattoos, and he stood in a way that gave away that he had once been military. “Hey Ray, I’m Geoff, we talked on the phone. You weren’t kidding when you said you’d be down here in three days, I’m fucking impressed man. That’s fast as dicks.” Ray grinned; he already liked his new boss. “Well you know this was a shit ton better than working at GameStop so I booked it down here.” Geoff gave him an easy smile and they gathered his luggage, carrying it out to Geoff’s waiting truck and throwing it in. “Next stop, Rooster Teeth.” He mumbled as he settled into the backseat, his eyes watching as the world zoomed by, and his vision settled into x-ray mode, the scenery moving so quickly it turned into a numbing orange blur.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is right before the timeline the Gavin's story was being told in meets the timeline that Ray's story is being told in, so the timelines will be one and their POV's will be integrated more often!


	4. How they met

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Gavin and Ray meet there is something off that they both can feel. They don't know how to react, and what's happening.

Ray managed to get his X-Ray under control by the time they arrived, it was a wonder he didn’t shake out of his skin he was so excited. This was the start of his new life, surrounded by warm air and beautiful weather. Michael had been chatting away the entire time in the front seat with Geoff, the two of them discussing a new Let’s Play. He had tuned it out until Michael was shaking him from is content daze as they pulled up to the building. He felt his heart rate pick up, a grin stretching his face. “Well then Ray, welcome to Rooster Teeth.” Geoff drawled from the front, turning and smiling at him. 

They piled from Geoff’s truck and moved Ray’s luggage into Michael’s car. He was going to be staying with his friend for a while until he got his own place. Ray barely paid attention though, his eyes wide as he took in the building in front of him. “Hey Ray shut your damn mouth before you catch flies.” Michael commented, clapping him on the shoulder before beginning to lead him to the entrance. Ray snapped his mouth shut, though his smile remained. The cool air conditioning soothed the sweat that had beaded on his skin, and he relished it for a moment as he scanned the room. A sweet looking blonde sat at the front desk. “Hey guys! I’m guessing you’re the new guy, Ray right? Welcome!” He learned that her name was Kara, and he had decided he already liked her when he turned to face Michael and Geoff at the sound of a familiar voice. “Is that…” He murmured, trying to connect the dots of the voice to a face when his eyes found the face. 

Let’s just say that if it was physically possible for his heart to skip a beat, it would have.

The man before him was tall and broad shoulders, a grey hoodie wrapped around his torso. His dark hair was wild a top his head and a nice layer of stubble coated his cheeks. With deep brown eyes and an easy smile that immediately sent shivers down his spine. It was Caboose as far as he could tell, based off of the voice, but he knew better than that. “Ray, I’m sure you fucking know who this is.” Geoff said, and he nodded. “That’s not a fucking proper introduction Geoffery.” The man retorted with a scowl but within seconds his white grin was back. “I’m Joel Heyman.” He stuck his hand out, and Ray shyly shook it, reveling in the strength of his grip. “Ray Narvaez Jr.” He returned, unable to look away from him. “Alright you two flirts, I gotta steal my Hispanic back, he’s gotta meet the other idiots.” Ray’s cheeks flushed red as he let go, turning away quickly as Joel retreated to his own office. Geoff lead Ray into the office, and he tossed a look over his shoulder as he was pulled into the room and saw Joel standing at the door to his own office, a soft smile still lingering.

When he turned into the office he was shocked by the pure green of it. Obviously he had watched the AWHU’s, but it never occurred to him that it was so lime. Jack was the first one on his feet to greet Ray, his smile peeking out from behind his beard. Somewhere within his greeting Ray’s vision took a turn to the x-ray side, and it was a bit unnerving to be able to see the internal organs of a man he was just meeting while he spoke, but still he held his smile. He could not make it go back, no matter how much he focused, and his frustration was beginning to build. Gavin was the next for him to meet, and as his eyes slid over the Brit he saw something weird, an aura of sorts that seemed to radiate from him and he realized he was picking up something that he couldn’t explain that was inside of the man’s body. He squinted as he looked at him, and found soon that he was waving in front of his face. “Hey mate? Jet lag getting to ya? I said I’m Gavin.” Ray blinked rapidly and his vision shifted to normal, and the aura thing or whatever the hell it was disappeared. He also got his first view of Gavin, a lanky dude with sandy hair and tanned skin and shockingly jade eyes. 

\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

“Yeah sorry man, just a bit overwhelmed y’know?” Ray replied, and Gavin smiled easily, his eyes scanning the new hunter in the office. Ray was clearly Hispanic, dark skin and a mess of black hair upon his head. He had bright eyes framed by black frames and his smile was wide but at the moment seemed a bit forced. The way he’d been watching him, the way Ray seemed to look right through him into his existence, it unnerved Gavin. He didn’t like that feeling, someone digging past his boundaries. He felt like he was being paranoid and tried to shake it off. “Yeah, when I first came to Rooster Teeth I was out of my bloody mind, I still couldn’t believe I was here. It was top!” Ray seemed to relax and so did Gavin, although the feeling that there was something different about Ray remained.

It didn’t take long for Ray to settle in. He was easy going after the weird event from when him and Gavin met, his humor contagious and often left the office in stitches, especially Michael. Something about that made Gavin’s blood boil, he didn’t know what it was exactly but the fact that every word out of Ray’s mouth seemed to send Michael into a fit of giggles really got under his skin. Yet at the same time, he could not dislike the guy, he was so genuinely… Ray. There was nothing about him that seemed fake, every word every laugh every arm movement; he was just an all around good guy. So he tried to stop letting it get to him, an eventually by the end of the first week he had settled in with him. Yet there was still that weird feeling when he was close to him, like a clash of energy. It set Gavin on edge and he could tell it was the same with Ray, and it left him wondering what the hell was happening.


	5. The discovery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ray and Gavin finally reveal what their secrets are to one another, powers are out.

Three months into working at Rooster Teeth and things were looking up for Ray. He spent every day playing video games and generally making a fool of himself; it was like all of his dreams had come alive. He always felt a little awkward around Gavin, although he wasn’t sure why. Every time the Brit looked at him it was like he was trying to decipher the secret that he kept so well hidden. There was one-day thought that his x-ray decided to be a bitch. Most of the time it was easy to hide, he’d just blink it away and refocus his vision, but that Wednesday it just could not be shaken. Everyone knew that something was wrong, he was consistently holding his head and his normal insane video games skills were barely to par. His swirling red and yellow vision was having him see things he really didn’t want to witness, and it was giving him a headache. At one point he dropped his controller, unable to concentrate with the red and yellow cutting through his computer into the wires. “Shit.” Ray mumbled, grabbing for it and getting distracted by the tendons and bones moving in his hand, managing to hit his head on his desk. “God damnit!” He growled, shutting his eyes while the other lads joked around.

“Ray you might need to get your prescription checked, you’re doing bad as dicks man!” Geoff scoffed, proceeding to kill Ray in the game. “Yeah Ray, you’re getting hammered today!” Michael added, wheeling over a bit and patting Ray on the shoulder before returning his attention to the game. Everyone chuckled aside from Gavin, who once again had that look in his eyes, the one that said he knew something was wrong here. Ray of course couldn’t see it, instead his vision showed him the way the muscles moved to tilt Gavin’s eyebrows down, and that in itself was really fucking weird. Gavin frowned though, his own attention drawn from the game as he watched Ray struggle in a way he normally only saw briefly. It was odd, and now he needed to know what was wrong. He wasn’t going to do it now of course, Ray would shut him down and turn it into a joke; it was his defense mechanism. So Gavin settled in to wait, looking for the perfect moment to pounce and discover what was ailing Ray. He was pulled from his thoughts as his character on screen blew up, and he shrieked. “Bloody hell! What was that for you douchepots?” The rest of the room was set to laughing while Gavin nearly flailed in his seat.

Gavin found his opportunity at lunch. Everyone was discussing what they were going to eat, and he overheard Michael ask Ray were he was going to be going. “Oh y’know, just gonna hang here. Got some editing to catch up on and stuff.” His voice was a low mumble and his eyes were unfocused as he stared at the floor. Michael shrugged and spun around in his chair to face Gavin, an expectant look on his face that was clearly missed by the Brit. “So what about you Gavvy Wavvy? Are you gonna join me for lunch today?” He had a hopeful look in his brown eyes, and Gavin really wanted to ditch his idea and join Michael. It wasn’t very often that he was going to spend time with just him and his boy, not often that he could be alone with him and pretend that just for a little while that it would be more than a friendship. Today though he had to stick to his plan, he needed to know what was going on with Ray and why every time the Puerto Rican looked at him it felt like he was staring straight through him. “Oh I’m sorry my little Michael…” Gavin whispered, dropping his head and Michael’s smile fell. “I’m really behind with editing the Minecraft let’s play, and Geoff will absolutely clatter me if I don’t get it done today. Tomorrow maybe?” He ended the sentence with a small smile and watched as some hope returned to Michael’s face. “Hey Michael…” Gavin said quietly. “Yeah, Gav?” Gavin bit at his lip before whispering, “Hi, Michael.” Michael was full on smiling at this point, jumping to his feet and clapping a hand on Gavin’s back. “Shut up idiot, I’ll see you after lunch.” Then he left the office, leaving Ray and Gavin alone.

The silence was nothing short of deafening.

The taps on the keyboard and the clicks of the mouse were the only thing that made noise, it was like the two of them were holding their breaths. Gavin knew that he needed to say something soon, he just didn’t know what. He hadn’t planned out past getting Ray alone, so he was in a bit of a pickle. Ray broke the silence first. “I know you aren’t behind on the Minecraft let’s play, I saw you exporting it this morning.” His voice was low, and he didn’t look at Gavin. He continued to tap away at his computer, but Gavin noted that he wasn’t doing anything at all, Final Cut Pro wasn’t even open. “Yeah… well I wanted to talk to you.” He retorted, and Ray turned to face Gavin. “Why? What’d I do? I swear I’m not making a move on Michael or something.” Gavin choked on his own breath at the statement, refusing to acknowledge what Ray had said. “You didn’t do anything I was just wondering if you…” He paused, not entirely sure on how to phrase his question. “I was wondering if there was something… unique about you.” Ray visibly tensed. “Are you making fun of me because I’m brown?” He asked, his normal joking voice shaking.

“Ray I’m being serious, there’s something different about you.” Gavin said coolly, lowering his gaze and Ray bit at his lip. “I could say the same about you Gavino.” Now it was Gavin’s turn to tense, and it was moments like this where he was grateful he’d learned to control the slow motion, he used to slow things down when he was stressed and right then the whole world would have taken a turn for the slower. “What on earth do you mean? I mean yeah, I’m British, I’m different from you.” Ray sighed and dropped his head into his hands. He knew that if he explained what he meant he would be straight up telling Gavin he could see through things, and that wasn’t in his plans. “Well what do you see different in me?” Ray retorted finally, still gazing at the floor, and Gavin shrugged. “I feel like when you look at me sometimes you are looking through me. Like you can see every part of me, even the hidden parts y’know?” Ray clenched his hands into fists and his head shot up. Was it really that obvious that he could in fact see through Gavin? He let out a shaky sigh. “Well you wouldn’t be that far from the truth…” His voice was below a whisper, barely audible to Gavin.

“What did you say?” Gavin got up from his chair and moved to Michael’s, rolling over closer to the distressed Puerto Rican. He took a deep breath before looking up at Gavin, causing the Brit to shiver, as once again Ray seemed to be looking through him. “I said, you wouldn’t be far from the truth.” Gavin felt his chest tighten as Ray stared him down, unblinking. “And while I’m being honest with you, I can see that something different thing with you. It’s like you radiate a different energy, it moves in slow waves that I don’t understand…” Gavin was shaking at this point, Ray was like him, there was someone else who had some power, he wasn’t alone. “So you have x-ray vision?” Ray frowned that Gavin didn’t address what he had just said. “Well yeah I guess I do, it’s a little more than that it seems but yeah, x-ray vision.” They both watched each other for a second, Ray still seeing the internal organs of Gavin and he kept thinking ‘this is so fucking weird’. “So, can I call you X-Ray?” Gavin questioned, leaning forward and resting his chin in his hands. “No! Gavin, you’re avoiding the question! What are you?” It was a weird question he knew, but it was the only thing he could think to ask the overexcited Brit. He needed to know what he was, and what it was that he could do. “Well, I can slow stuff down.” Gavin said quietly, it was his turn to look down. Ray’s mouth fell open. “What do you mean you can slow down time? Like just everything get’s slow?” Gavin chewed on his lip and shook his head. “It’s like you, it’s more than that. I can manipulate current time and the things in it, just slow them down to my pleasing I guess.” Ray nodded, taking it in.

“What are the chances of this happening?” Gavin said after a few minutes of them both sitting and thinking. “What do you mean?” Ray asked, rubbing at his eyes and grinning as he could finally see normally. “Well two blokes end up working at the same company, and both have… powers. How top is that?” Gavin exclaimed, spinning around in his chair and chuckling. The whole situation was so bizarre, and soon enough the two of them were laughing loudly, their chairs moving due to the extent of their laughter. “And you know what’s ridiculous? We practically avoided each other for a while, and now look at this, we have more in common than we thought!” Ray wiped tears from his eyes and sunk into his seat. “Yeah, imagine that.” Gavin breathed as they both calmed down and everyone came back into the room. They all took one look at Gavin and Ray both out of breath and red faced, and shook their heads. “I thought you dickheads said you were going to be editing.” Ryan commented, sitting down on his couch and the others all murmured in agreement. A dangerous look flickered onto Michael’s face for a moment as he watched the two of them. “Hey dumb ass get out of my seat.” Michael growled, tipping the chair and knocking Gavin sprawling to the floor. “But Michael!” He whined and the rest of the office returned it in an over exaggerated voice. “But Micool!” They cried out, and Gavin pouted, staring up at the Jersey Man in confusion.

Ray looked over at him and shrugged, and everything was back to normal in the office, if not a little less awkward. There was no more awkward between Ray and Gavin, and the other guys noticed it too, everyone was more relaxed. In the middle editing Ray was feeling like a soda because despite being happy with what had happened that day, he was exhausted from being in x-ray mode the entire morning. When he ventured into the kitchen area he saw a familiar tall frame that sent his heart to pounding again. He slowly started backing away, not wanting to have to trip over his words in front of the tall man but instead he was out of luck as Joel turned and spotted him. “Hey Ray!” His voice was light, and he grinned at the Puerto Rican. “Oh, hey Joel.” He muttered, looking down at his feet. “Getting a fucking soda or something?” He asked, coming over closer to Ray and looking down at him, closing the distance in between the two of them. “Yeah, just needed a recharge y’know? Gotta stay hydrated.” He replied, looking up at Joel with a soft smile. “Yeah, where were you at lunch today?” Ray tensed, his smile tight. “Stuck around to edit. Sorry, were you expecting me to be there?” Joel’s cheeks flushed a shade of pink that made Ray grin. “Not really I mean I just feel like I should get to know you more y’know, I’m just gonna go back and work I’ll talk to you later. Enjoy your soda.” Joel rambled, rushing away from him and leaving Ray blushing himself and smiling alone in the kitchen.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my second multi-chaptered that I've done, so critique is welcome.


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